Tuesday, May 15, 2012

25 FACTS ABOUT THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD

From: Tom F.

Sent: May 15, 2012

To: undisclosed recipients

Subject: Fw: 25 FACTS ABOUT THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD

Depending upon your definition, and whether or not you count Taiwan,
there are “approximately” 196 countries in the world as of this
writing. So while you may consider yourself to be a knowledgeable
global citizen, and we’re sure you are, given the dynamic and complex
nature of our planet there are certain to be at least a couple facts on
this list that you will find surprising.

Here are 25 things that
you would not believe about these
countries.

25: Covers the most time zones –
France

If you count everything, including overseas territories, then France
claims the title by covering 12 time zones. The United States would be
the runner-up with 11 and then Russia with 9.

24: Most likely to disappear beneath the waves –
Maldives

With all the talks of global warming and rising sea levels, it is the
residents of the Maldives that have the greatest reason to fear. With an
average height of around 1.8 meters above sea level their nation is the
lowest on
Earth.

23: Most overweight population –
Nauru

With over 95% of its population being overweight, the small island
nation of Nauru is by far the fattest country on Earth. Its obesity
epidemic is primarily attributed to the importation of western fast food
that coincided with an increased standard of living in the 20th century
due to the global popularity of its phosphate exports. It’s almost non
sequitur…almost.

22: Roads made of coral –
Guam

Because Guam doesn’t have any natural sand, but rather coral, the island
nation makes its asphalt using a mix of ground coral and oil rather than
importing sand from
abroad.

21: Has 350 sheep for every person – Falkand Islands
(UK)

With only about 3,000 people the Falkland Islands are home to
approximately half-a million-sheep. Not surprisingly wool is a major
export.

20: Oldest sovereign state –
Egypt

This largely depends upon your definition of a sovereign state but if
you are going by first acquisition of sovereignty then Egypt would be
the first country in the world to achieve sovereignty based upon the
formation of the first dynasty in 3100
BC.

19: Most lakes in the world –
Canada

WITH OVER THREE MILLION LAKES, 9% of CANADIAN TERRITORY is actually
FRESH water and OVER 60% of ALL THE LAKES IN THE WORLD are found
WITHIN ITS
BORDERS.

18: Least likely place to meet your neighbor –
Mongolia

At 4 people per square mile Mongolia is the least densely populated
country on
Earth.

Compare this to the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong that has the highest
population density in the world with 340,000 people per square
mile.

17: Largest number of tanks –
Russia

It is a strange title to hold, but Russia has by far the most tanks of
any army in the world
(21,000).

Unfortunately for the motherland most of these outdated machines are
tributes to its
past,

and although outnumbered (16,000), the United States has a much more
advanced tank
inventory.

16: The land of no rivers – Saudi
Arabia

Sounds a bit strange doesn’t it? For a country as big as Saudi Arabia
there has to be at least some sort of flowing water. Well, there isn’t.
Most of their fresh water comes from desalinization plants or
underground
reservoirs.

15: Youngest population of any country –
Niger

Generally the world's youngest country is determined by calculating the
portion of the population that is younger than 15. Presently it is Niger
that holds this distinction with roughly half of its population having
barely reached puberty
(49%).

14: Most diverse country in the world –
India

In almost every category – culturally, economically, climatically,
racially, linguistically, ethnically, and religiously India is either
the most diverse countries in the world, or the
runner-up.

13: Fastest disappearing nation –
Ukraine

With a natural decrease in population of .8% annually, between now and
2050 Ukraine is expected to lose around 30% of its
people.

12: Most of its citizens live abroad –
Malta

After some rough economic times coupled with an increased birth rate,
Malta experienced significant immigration. It was so significant that
there are now more Maltese living abroad than within the country
itself.

11: Smaller than Central Park in New York City –
Monaco

Although Vatican City is smaller (.17 sq mi) than Monaco (.8 sq mi),
unlike Monaco it doesn’t have any permanent residents which leaves
Monaco as the smallest permanently inhabited nation in the world…smaller
than Central
Park.

10: Almost entirely covered in jungle –
Suriname

With 91% of its land covered in jungle Suriname’s half-a-million
residents live primarily along the coast near the capital. Only 5% of
the population (mainly indigenous people) live
inland.

9: Almost entirely treeless –
Haiti

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Haiti, a country that has been so
badly deforested that you can tell where it borders the Dominican
Republic by looking at a satellite image (Haiti is on the left in the
photo
above).

8: Largest country with NO farms –
Singapore

Although there are a number of small nations in the world that show no
hint of having an agriculture based economy, (take Vatican City for
example) Singapore is the largest of these urban
city-states.

7: Most languages spoken – Papua New
Guinea

Although English is its official language, only 1-2% of the population
actually speak
it.

As the most linguistically diverse country in the world, over 820
languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea, or 12% of the world’s
total.

6: Most educated people –
Canada

With 50% of its population having been educated at the POST SECONDARY
level, Canada easily has the most educated populace in the world. It is
followed by Israel at 45% and Japan at
44%.

5: The “country desert” –
Libya

With 99% of the country covered in desert, Libya is one of the most arid
places in the world and in some regions DECADES may go by without a
single drop of
rain.

4: Least peaceful nation in the world –
Somalia

Although for the last three years IRAQ has been ranked as the least
peaceful country in the world, according to the 'Global Peace Index',
Somalia overtook it this year for the top
spot.

3: Produces most of the world’s oxygen –
Russia

Siberia is home to approximately 25% of the world’s forests that span an
area larger than the continental United States, making Russia the
largest converter of CO2 into breathable
compounds.

2: World’s largest opium producer –
Afghanistan

Producing a whopping 95 PERCENT of the world’s opium, not even 10 years
of occupation by American forces have slowed down the
industry.

1: Most people behind bars –
United States

When it comes to incarcerating its population, the United States is the
WORLD'S UNCONTESTED LEADER.
With 2.2 million people BEHIND
BARS, it has 5% of the WORLD'S population, but 25% of the WORLD'S
INCARCERATED POPULATION. China comes in second place at 1.5 million and
Russia comes third at 870,000.